The Kremlin said Russia will hold a ceremony Friday to officially incorporate four areas of Ukraine into Russia a process that Ukraine and its allies ha
The Kremlin said Russia will hold a ceremony Friday to officially incorporate four areas of Ukraine into Russia, a process that Ukraine and its allies have dismissed as illegitimate while promising retaliation in the form of new sanctions.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Thursday the ceremony will include Russian President Vladimir Putin along with the Russian-appointed heads of the four regions where Russia orchestrated referendums that ended earlier this week.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz tweeted Thursday that he assured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that Germany will never recognize the « so-called results. »
« The sham referendums carried out by Putin in the illegally occupied areas of Ukraine are worthless, » Scholz said.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Wednesday that the United States expected Russian « to use these sham referenda as a false pretext to try to annex Ukrainian territory in flagrant violation of international law and the United Nations Charter.
